Saturday, January 23, 2016

AMA Pro Flat Track Releases Mostly-Complete 2016 AMA Grand National Championship Season Schedule

























AMA Pro Flat Track released their 2016 schedule late last night, and other then a couple of minor changes and TBAs to it the racing season ahead is mostly what had been talked about and shown forth from late last fall.

As had been put forth and discussed, both Daytona Short Track rounds, the Springfield Mile races, the Peoria TT, Charlotte Half-Mile, the Sacto Mile, Lima Half-Mile and Sturgis Half-Mile all return to this year's upcoming season schedule.

Listed as TBA include what were previously 'tentative' rounds to wrap up the season in California (Calistoga Half-Mile) and the season ending round in Las Vegas (now listed as TBA in Northern California).

Although this is the latest we have seen the schedule being released (in what seems like ever), new AMA Pro Racing CEO Michael Lock discussed this with Barry Boone on his 'Talking Motorcycles' radio show a couple of weeks ago and made a big point of saying that going forward they want to have the schedule in place by mid-late summer, which would be a much better scenario for especially all of the teams wanting to go after sponsors for their respective budgets for the next season. That in itself would be a major move forward for the sanctioning body that is famous for releasing their schedule very late in the year (in the past five-six seasons previous schedules had been released from late November to early-mid December).

In the shot above, riders roar off the line in heat race #1 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds during the legendary Indy Mile, round 7 of the 2015 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines season on July 11.

(L-R) Brad Baker on the #6 Harley-Davidson Motor Co/Screaming Eagle Performance Products/Arai Helmets-sponsored factory H-D XR750, Jared Mees on the #1 Las Vegas H-D/Rogers Racing/Harley-Davidson Motor Co-backed XR750, Henry Wiles on the #17 Zanotti Racing/Motion Pro/Bell Helmets-sponsored XR750, Brandon Robinson on the #44 Latus Motorsports/Castrol/Triumph America-sponsored Triumph Bonneville and Mikey Martin on the #91 Weirbach Racing/Racing Unlimited/Barnett-sponsored Kawasaki EX650 get the jump after the green light to lead the charge towards Indy's turn one.

With the release of the schedule, fans can now start 'officially' making their plans to attend the races of their choice for the season ahead, with the Daytona Short Track season opening doubleheader just 47 days away.

You can check out the full schedule below in the press release thanks to AMA Pro Flat Track.








AMA Pro Racing announces 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2016) - AMA Pro Racing is proud to announce an all-star lineup of events for AMA Pro Flat Track's 2016 schedule. The 15-round calendar combines events steeped in the rich history of the Grand National Championship with some new cities and new circuits.

At the start of 2016, defending Grand National Champion Jared Mees finds himself in a familiar place as he leads the charge in AMA Pro Flat Track's premier division, Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines. He'll be joined by some fresh competition this year, as defending GNC2 champ Davis Fisher has ascended the ranks to challenge the veterans.

The 2016 season will begin during the Bike Week festivities in Daytona Beach with a quarter-mile kickoff at the DAYTONA Flat Track on March 10 and 11, and will wrap up in early October with a yet-to-be-announced two-race swing through California.

On April 9, AMA Pro Flat Track heads to Austin, Texas to make its debut at the world-class Circuit of the Americas, racing alongside the stars of MotoGP and MotoAmerica as part of the Grand Prix of the Americas weekend. Next up is the first of the new events on the calendar, the Arizona Mile at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz. on May 14.

Mile racing fans will be happy to know that the historic Sacramento Mile will take place on May 21 and the legendary Springfield Mile returns to the calendar on the familiar dates of Memorial Day (May 29) and Labor Day (September 4). Remington Park will play host to the Oklahoma City Mile on June 18, marking the first mile for the Sooner State.

Wrapping up the summer, the series will visit a trio of Half-Mile circuits, Lima Half-Mile (June 25), Charlotte Half-Mile (July 30) and Sturgis Half-Mile (August 9), before Henry Wiles gets his shot at making it 12 consecutive wins at the Peoria TT on August 14. The final new event on the schedule will be held in New York State on August 20.

Details about the remaining dates and any additional events will be released as soon as they are available.


2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Schedule:

March 10: DAYTONA Flat Track I - Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
March 11: DAYTONA Flat Track II - Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
April 9: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
May 14: Arizona Mile - Turf Paradise, Phoenix, Ariz.
May 21: Sacramento Mile - Cal Expo Fair, Sacramento, Calif.
May 29: Springfield Mile I - Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
June 18: Oklahoma City Mile - Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Okla.
June 25: Lima Half-Mile - Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio
July 30: Charlotte Half-Mile - Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, N.C.
August 9: Sturgis Half-Mile - Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, S.D.
August 14: Peoria TT - Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Ill.
August 20: TBA, New York State
September 4: Springfield Mile II - Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Ill.
September 17: TBA, Southern California
Early October: TBA, Northern California
Next Up:

The 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track season will once again kick off with a doubleheader at the DAYTONA Flat Track during Daytona's Bike Week festivities. The twin short track races will take place at the "World Center of Racing" on Thursday and Friday, March 10 & 11.
 
For additional information and to purchase tickets, please visit http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Events/2016/DAYTONA-Flat-Track/DAYTONA-Flat-Track.aspx.

How to Watch:

FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track events. The site also provides coverage of IMSA's development and single-make series, and NASCAR's touring and weekly series. Catch all the action at http://www.FansChoice.tv.

About AMA Pro Flat Track:

AMA Pro Flat Track is the world's premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on AMA Pro Flat Track, please visit http://www.amaproracing.com/ft/, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or live stream the on-track action on FansChoice.tv.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com
 
For additional information contact:
 
AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com








4 comments:

  1. Hagerstown MD will be sorely missed. Need more racing in July, a relatively dry month. Possible New York race is the only one in the North East. Too bad since many GNC 1 AND GNC 2 racers come from MD, PA, and New York

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    Replies
    1. I agree Bob, although lack of attendance surely played the role in the loss of Hagerstown, along with Indy and Du Quoin. With any luck the new regime will be able to put more racing in July as well going forward. We can always hope. Thanks for coming by to check us out and leave a comment!

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  2. Replies
    1. I doubt if it would be Del Mar. They were originally floating Calistoga out there, but that's north, so at this point it's a guess as to where.

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Keep it nice, but keep them coming!

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